Mark J. Finstrom
Manager IT Department
As the IT Manager, my team and I manage all the firm’s devices, applications and tools used by staff. With 30 years of IT experience and job diversity, I continually look for ways to improve and innovate services and operations while implementing security options to protect client and firm information.
Location
Support Team
- Jason Walker – IT Technician
As the IT Manager, my team and I manage all the firm’s devices, applications and tools used by staff. With 30 years of IT experience and job diversity, I continually look for ways to improve and innovate services and operations while implementing security options to protect client and firm information.
My work life consists of 20+ years in agribusiness as a farmer and rancher in Iowa and South Dakota, 24 years in education (teacher and IT professional) and 6 years in business between Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, and South Dakota. This diversity in work experience has enabled me to learn, assist, develop, and implement solutions that have improved business operations which have increased financial returns for each organization multi-fold over. My education and business ownership acumen allow me to assess situations with a different lens; thus, allowing me to provide feedback that has a critical eye toward business safety and growth.
Customer service is my mantra. I listen to the end users and seek clarity, while upholding my integrity and meeting their needs. I work hard to explain options using lay language while seeking agreement. I enjoy technical and non-technical work and can be found on a tractor or ATV outside of work. I take pride in my team’s work and love speaking with peers to share and learn new things. It is my role, with my team’s assistance, to solve problems and keep end users always working.
Professional Affiliations
- Certified Education Technology Leader
- FEMA Certified (25+ certificates)
- FBI Citizen’s Academy
- Eide Bailly Technology Alliance
Community
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member
- FCC HAM radio operator
- Red Cross certified
- HOPE Lutheran Church
- Financial Secretary & Secretary
Personal
I’m not your typical technologist. I love farm life. I grew up raising cattle and driving tractors and semi-trucks prior to becoming an elementary educator and a college professor. My wife and I have a small ranch where we raise registered Belted Galloway cattle (often referred to as Oreo cattle), along with other livestock. We love fresh produce and have a large garden that provides year-round vegetables, herbs, and fruit.
My skills go past the farm though, as I’m the financial secretary as well as the council secretary for my church. If you can’t tell, I do not like grass to grow under my feet and I prefer to be busy every day with diverse activities. Over the years I have also served on multiple national advisory boards, have been interviewed and published, as well as been a public speaker across the country. I’m also a licensed HAM radio operator and can be found online as “KG7KAW.”
My passions drew me into emergency management where I acquired CERT, FBI, and FEMA certificates. This led to the creation of the “mBus2” a mobile command bus and a hands-on learning bus (Maker Bus) used with students and educators – https://youtu.be/cACDmi-Aek4. Innovation and entrepreneurship are in my blood.
